wedding ring under skirting board

from_atozinc

hi

herself just let her wedding ring fall and it went under the skirting board on the first floor (if she had tried to repeat this exercise 200 times, she probably could not have repeated, it went in under where skirting board has a gap and ring must have just been at the flat angle at the prefect time for this to bloody happen)

I shined in a torch and cannot see it, just see lots of fluff and dust etc

House is a 2 storey detached built about 20 years ago. Happened in one of the bedrooms

First main question is, this ring gone behind skirting board, has it potentially fallen to the bottom of the house in the gap between blocks etc? probably silly q but just asking

Is there any easy way to remove a section (30cm ) of skirting board?

punisher5112

Chisel in behind and pry it out, magnet could be an option, coat hanger....

Vacuum cleaner but obviously keep an eye on it....

FrancieBrady

from_atozinc wrote: »

hi

herself just let her wedding ring fall and it went under the skirting board on the first floor (if she had tried to repeat this exercise 200 times, she probably could not have repeated, it went in under where skirting board has a gap and ring must have just been at the flat angle at the prefect time for this to bloody happen)

I shined in a torch and cannot see it, just see lots of fluff and dust etc

House is a 2 storey detached built about 20 years ago. Happened in one of the bedrooms

First main question is, this ring gone behind skirting board, has it potentially fallen to the bottom of the house in the gap between blocks etc? probably silly q but just asking

Is there any easy way to remove a section (30cm ) of skirting board?

Taking off the skirting may not get you very far.
Cut along the top of it with a knife to separate paint and wallpaper if any. Then try and pry off. If there is glue used then it may damage skirting.

You will probably have to lift a floorboard or two. You can find youtube tutorials on that.
Probably easier just to forget the whole thing and get married again! (not necessarily to each other)

miezekatze

I'd try and get it out with a vacuum cleaner or something first, use the attachment. What kind of flooring do you have in that room? If it's laminate, there's usually a little gap under the skirting board so maybe it's stuck in that?

Podge201

Take off skirting. I see a kango on adverts for sale. This could turn into a big job.

from_atozinc

miezekatze wrote: »

I'd try and get it out with a vacuum cleaner or something first, use the attachment. What kind of flooring do you have in that room? If it's laminate, there's usually a little gap under the skirting board so maybe it's stuck in that?

its a wooden floor

Podge201

Podge201 wrote: »

Take off skirting. I see a kango on adverts for sale. This could turn into a big job.

GrumpyMe

punisher5112 wrote: »

Chisel in behind and pry it out, magnet could be an option, coat hanger....
Vacuum cleaner but obviously keep an eye on it....

If it is he's in big trouble...;)

loyatemu

stick a stocking over the end of the vacuum cleaner, it'll catch anything that gets sucked up.

Could you fit a ruler under the skirting and run it along?

looksee

It won't have gone between the blocks, unless its a very strange house. It is probably either caught under the edge of the plaster which does not usually come right down to the floorboards, the skirting covers that gap. It could also have fallen into the cavity between the bedroom floorboards and the ceiling below.

What is on the floor? If its carpet then the easiest would be to pull it back and abuse a floorboard or two. If its laminate then yes, go the skirting route, if it is floor boards again maybe approach via the boards.

Getting a short bit of skirting off would be difficult, it would probably actually be easier to take off a full length. Could we have a photo of the area? A lot depends on how well finished the skirting is, and how it is fixed in place - nails or glue.

from_atozinc

loyatemu wrote: »

stick a stocking over the end of the vacuum cleaner, it'll catch anything that gets sucked up.

Could you fit a ruler under the skirting and run it along?

could do this with hoover alright.

what would running the ruler along do?

from_atozinc

looksee wrote: »

It won't have gone between the blocks, unless its a very strange house. It is probably either caught under the edge of the plaster which does not usually come right down to the floorboards, the skirting covers that gap. It could also have fallen into the cavity between the bedroom floorboards and the ceiling below.

What is on the floor? If its carpet then the easiest would be to pull it back and abuse a floorboard or two. If its laminate then yes, go the skirting route, if it is floor boards again maybe approach via the boards.

Getting a short bit of skirting off would be difficult, it would probably actually be easier to take off a full length. Could we have a photo of the area? A lot depends on how well finished the skirting is, and how it is fixed in place - nails or glue.

its a wooden floor, here are 3 pictures. from far out to near in.

EDIT 2: put the photos up here too: https://imgur.com/a/VNfeXYx


EDIT: on my pc , photos appear the right way up, but when I upload, they always rotate, annoying, so apologies for the pics

GinSoaked

Cut out a section of the skirting board with a cheap multitool https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-Tools-430787-Multi-Tool/dp/B0784BPP92/ . Then go from there. Multitool because it does minimum damage and only makes a very narrow cut.

Bonzo Delaney

Defo vacuum job with a long nose attachment to increase suction then try and fit a nylon tight or pop sock where the attachment goes on to the nozzle to stop the ring going in to the bag .
Along ruler might just move it along for you also.
Worst case is it's also droped down the gap between the floorboards and the wall that the skirting covers. Wewont go there yet....

from_atozinc

Bonzo Delaney wrote: »

Defo vacuum job with a long nose attachment to increase suction then try and fit a nylon tight or pop sock where the attachment goes on to the nozzle to stop the ring going in to the bag .
Along ruler might just move it along for you also.
Worst case is it's also droped down the gap between the floorboards and the wall that the skirting covers. Wewont go there yet....

tried the vacuum with nylon for about 15 mins - no good. just sucked dust, was worth a try though.

that multi tool thing looks good.

Zardaz

If it has fallen down into the floorspace, you might consider just drilling out one of the knots and peeping in with an inspection camera. If you find it and get it out the hole, its easy to just plug it up with a bit of dark-stained dowel, and you wont notice the repair.

GinSoaked

from_atozinc wrote: »

tried the vacuum with nylon for about 15 mins - no good. just sucked dust, was worth a try though.

that multi tool thing looks good.

You might not need it if you can remove a complete section of skirting board.

SOPHIE THE DOG

Try a nail file

spaceHopper

It might have fallen into the void between the ceiling and floor. The joists will be at right angles to the floor boards, what room is below it. Do you have recessed light can you pop on and use a camera phone to look up. It might be easier to cut a hole in the ceiling under especially of it's room nobody uses like utility. Measure out from the wall in your bed room and then measure out below it.

from_atozinc

GinSoaked wrote: »

You might not need it if you can remove a complete section of skirting board.

true, but which is the easiest; remove a whole section or just a bit?

GinSoaked

Another option is a pickup tool https://www.amazon.co.uk/NoCry-Pick-up-Tool-Set-Telescoping/dp/B07D23M5R7/ (random example) and just keep fishing around - a bit like those arcade pick up a fluffy toy games.

from_atozinc

SOPHIE THE DOG wrote: »

Try a nail file

but what is a nail file going to do. ive already tried with a thin piece of wire etc

Bonzo Delaney

Yeah failing the vacuum method
Just take the the skirting off, there looks to be a filled nail hole in the pic. If it's a masonry nail it could prove troublesome to remove .
Where the press unit is try do get a flat chisel or wedge down between the skirt and the wall to loosen.
Cut any filler or caulk with a Stanley blade first

SOPHIE THE DOG

Sorry - missed that - best wishes

Murt10

punisher5112 wrote: »

, magnet could be an option,.

.

Gold is not magnetic, in fact it is the opposite - diamagnetic - meaning that it can be repelled by a magnetic field,

punisher5112

Murt10 wrote: »

Gold is not magnetic, in fact it is the opposite - diamagnetic - meaning that it can be repelled by a magnetic field,

Said could be, you never know it could be fake...

Sleepy

Did you actually see the ring go in there? Looks to be a tiny gap, couldn't have bounced elsewhere in the room and gone under the chest of drawers or the like?

from_atozinc

Sleepy wrote: »

Did you actually see the ring go in there? Looks to be a tiny gap, couldn't have bounced elsewhere in the room and gone under the chest of drawers or the like?

herself seen it and is 110% sure, check all other areas around also.
she then tried with another similar ring (the matching engagement ring) and it can indeed slide under the gap.

looksee

So now you have two rings to get out... (Sorry, I kwym )

I would think taking off the entire board, depending on the ends (if its an inside corner both ends it will be more difficult) would be less damage than taking out a piece.

loyatemu

if you slide a ruler underneath as far as it will go, does it hit resistance eventually? and can you then slide it along? If that doesn't push the ring out then it must have gone under the boards.

from_atozinc

looksee wrote: »

So now you have two rings to get out... (Sorry, I kwym )

I would think taking off the entire board, depending on the ends (if its an inside corner both ends it will be more difficult) would be less damage than taking out a piece.

she made sure not to lose this one!

noted thank you

I have a thin steel ruler, after doing the vacuuming, I can now see a concrete block and not dust. When I slot the steel ruler in, it goes in 2.5 cm before hitting solid concrete block. https://imgur.com/a/l7f2DyL




and I can angle the ruler in like this for 4cm: https://imgur.com/a/R5cSixA


So looks like ring went in and then immediately drops down - not sure what this means for me now

colm_mcm

Take skirting off gently. Don’t go pulling floor boards or anything that could cause the ring to move further.

charlie14

from_atozinc wrote: »

its a wooden floor

Then there is a space underneath between the flooring and the wall to allow the timber to expand, so it has dropped down there. I have replaced carpet with timber flooring so I had to lift the skirting and replace after. Not really that big a problem. Get an old chisel or similar and just prise it off and replace after.

from_atozinc

charlie14 wrote: »

Then there is a space underneath between the flooring and the wall to allow the timber to expand, so it has dropped down there. I have replaced carpet with timber flooring so I had to lift the skirting and replace after. Not really that big a problem. Get an old chisel or similar and just prise it off and replace after.

see this:

I have a thin steel ruler, after doing the vacuuming, I can now see a concrete block and not dust. When I slot the steel ruler in, it goes in 2.5 cm before hitting solid concrete block. https://imgur.com/a/l7f2DyL




and I can angle the ruler in like this for 4cm: https://imgur.com/a/R5cSixA


So looks like ring went in and then immediately drops down - not sure what this means for me now

from_atozinc

charlie14 wrote: »

Then there is a space underneath between the flooring and the wall to allow the timber to expand, so it has dropped down there. I have replaced carpet with timber flooring so I had to lift the skirting and replace after. Not really that big a problem. Get an old chisel or similar and just prise it off and replace after.

do you mean replace with a totally new section of skirting ? or use existing?

Podge201

Get out the chainsaw and cut a hole. Enough with the girl talk.

GinSoaked

First remove a decent section of skirting board. Look and prob to see if you can see retrieve the ring.

Second part if first fails is to take up a section of floor board. How you do that depends which side the current ones are pinned down. Worst case senario is that you have to cut out a board on all 4 sides but if you lucky you'll get away with two cuts.

The big issue is lifting the right section, you don't want to lift up to long a section but lift too small a section and you may have to do another.

The multitool is probably the most useful for cutting the skirting and floorboards.

charlie14

from_atozinc wrote: »

see this:

I have a thin steel ruler, after doing the vacuuming, I can now see a concrete block and not dust. When I slot the steel ruler in, it goes in 2.5 cm before hitting solid concrete block. https://imgur.com/a/l7f2DyL




and I can angle the ruler in like this for 4cm: https://imgur.com/a/R5cSixA


So looks like ring went in and then immediately drops down - not sure what this means for me now

Looks like the ring has just dropped down on to the old floor underneath the present timber flooring. The spece between the block wall and the end of the timber floor.

blackbox

Before you go buying power tools, wrecking your skirtings and possibly your flooring too, I suggest that you consider the cost of buying a replacement ring.

charlie14

from_atozinc wrote: »

do you mean replace with a totally new section of skirting ? or use existing?

Just take off the existing section and replace, It it dropped down near the center of the section, start prising it out from there and you may get enough room to retrieve it. If not then do so along the length careful to not put too much pressure at any one spot and thus break the skirting. Probably steel nails holding it to the wall and you may need to use that old chisel to break them if they are not coming away freely.

FrancieBrady

If you have slid the ruler all along the length and hit nothing you are looking at taking off the length of skirting. No other way to get it out.

Is it a stud or block/solid wall by the way? If it is studs...find them and prise at those points as that is were the nails will be. And don't forget to cut along the join first.

STB.

Get a claw hammer, a teatowl and prize the skirting board off easily.

You are wasting your time with anything else.

greenttc

God, the suspense reading this thread, will the ring be retrieved or is it lost forever? Dun Dun Dun....... Tune in next page to find out!

chooseusername

With all the poking around,it's probably dropped down onto
the ceiling underneath, from the angle of the ruler I'd say there's room.
Maybe she left it in the wine bar after her girl's night out?

NSAman

Ahhh heyar,,, hmmm.... oooooo.... Don’t like the look of that.... its a big job!!

hey Trev!!! get the Kango!!

hey missus make us a cuppa....

(Gets hoover)

that’ll be 1500 please!

Bass Reeves

from_atozinc wrote: »

its a wooden floor, here are 3 pictures. from far out to near in.

EDIT 2: put the photos up here too: https://imgur.com/a/VNfeXYx


EDIT: on my pc , photos appear the right way up, but when I upload, they always rotate, annoying, so apologies for the pics

It must have been a mangy sized wedding ring

blackbox

blackbox wrote: »

Before you go buying power tools, wrecking your skirtings and possibly your flooring too, I suggest that you consider the cost of buying a replacement ring.

charlie14

GinSoaked wrote: »

First remove a decent section of skirting board. Look and prob to see if you can see retrieve the ring.

Second part if first fails is to take up a section of floor board. How you do that depends which side the current ones are pinned down. Worst case senario is that you have to cut out a board on all 4 sides but if you lucky you'll get away with two cuts.

The big issue is lifting the right section, you don't want to lift up to long a section but lift too small a section and you may have to do another.

The multitool is probably the most useful for cutting the skirting and floorboards.

If that floor is laminated tongued and grooved, or just

tongue and grooved timber, the joints are most likely glued. If timber, most likely nailed through the groove on to timber battens underneath.

I would go with the skirting board before I would even dream of attempting to lift floorboards.

colm_mcm

blackbox wrote: »

Before you go buying power tools, wrecking your skirtings and possibly your flooring too, I suggest that you consider the cost of buying a replacement ring.

It’s not a Barmbrack ring from Halloween. It’s a wedding ring that more than likely has sentimental as well as significant monetary value.

Bonzo Delaney

How are the corners of the skirtings joined.
Are they mitred or scribed
If they are scribed in your favour could be handy enough to get off.
But skirting has to come off first then evaluate the problem ...... can we get a mini digger in through the window... just in case ¾ton one will do

StupidLikeAFox

Before you go messing around with power tools and tearing your house apart are you positive it didn't fall into a chippendales jocks?